Shield of Sparrows (Shield of Sparrows, #1)

by Devney Perry

Maybe after we were married, he’d stop treating me like a child. Though considering the fifteen-year age difference, I wasn’t holding my breath.

FIfteen years?? How old is this girl??

I stayed quiet as he spat my name.

Fuck this guy seriouslty

They birthed monsters to serve as a reminder to humans and animals alike that we were fragile and insignificant.

The nails on both his fingers and toes were thick and grooved with a dark-green tint. He had no hair, no eyebrows, and his skin was a chilly, pale white. His hawkish nose rested sharply above his thin, colorless lips.

This dude sounds like Voldemort

Before my mother’s death, Margot had been her lady’s maid,

Did she kill your mother?

Prince Zavier was in Roslo. The Guardian was in Roslo.

Are they two different people or the same person?

“Prince Zavier will marry her,”

“Tonight. As the bride prize for killing your marroweels.”

Tonight?? As in right here right now???

The magic rooted deep in Calandra’s land tinged our irises at birth with those starbursts, linking us forever to a place. No matter where we lived, where we moved, that one color was unchanging. Every Quentin had an amber starburst. Every Quentin except me. My eyes were solid gold. Not a starburst in sight.

Oh so we have a special bitch up in here

Though not before she flicked her wrist, just enough to break the skin and draw a bead of blood.

I feel like Daddy's not gonna like that one bit

“You must find the way into Allesaria before summer’s end. Then send word of how I can find and infiltrate the city.”

The fuck??? Didn't you just say that was a no no? This dumbass tryna get everyone killed

Once we realized it was no longer safe, we staged the disappearance of a few ships. All the soldiers aboard came home. But the Turans don’t need to know that.”

This dude out here thinking he's hot shit

It is our only chance at stopping the crux.”

BULLSHIT. You're just trying to convince her to side with you. Everyone knows the princess's daddy is a fuckface. That's literally romantasy 101

Then I’m to learn about the Guardian’s powers. And if I have the chance, you want me to kill him.”

Okay but hear me out.... What if he's good in bed?

A King cannot kill his Sparrow, and a Sparrow cannot kill her King, either directly or indirectly, without death befalling them both.

Was her fucking father going to sacrifice her sister by having her be indirectly involved in her King's death?

Unlike the others, he was still staring straight ahead at the wall. Expressionless.

Is he even real? Is it like a Slade/Rip thing? Except he's more of an illusion or his brother/friend plays him?

“You’re ugly when you cry.”

Bitch.

Last night, I’d mistaken Zavier’s voice for the Guardian’s.

I am half convinced this is the same dude...

“Not all monsters are born from the gods, my queen. Some of us were made.”

What if I didn’t want to rely on a man to be my rescuer?

A pile of clothes sitting beside the door. The locked door.

I'm starting to see The Guardian as Daddy

“Maybe I’ll tell you. If you earn it.”

Daddy

If fine meant I wanted to die, then yes, I was fine.

I feel this

“Sore, my queen? We’ll have to add riding to your training regimen. That, or being ridden. I’ll have a word with Zavier.”

DADDY

“Zavier likes to share.”

IS SHE GONNA GET THEM BOTH????!?!!

I didn’t want the Guardian.

but your lady petunia does.

In a way, he looked a bit like Zavier.

Brother or exact same guy??

“Praise is for the bedroom, Cross. Not the training ring.”

Ugh i'm drooling now

The only man who’d be in my bedroom was my husband.

Okay but hear me out.... What if he is your husband?

Something had to be attacking the grizzur. Something had interrupted its path.

Yeah. Daddy.

As I rounded the building, I found another treehouse tucked behind this one.

Daddy's house?

Why was it that every time I brought up Allesaria, the mood would change?

Does this city not exist?

I’d take a thousand training sessions with the Guardian over one with her.

Is that why he had Tillia train her?

“They’re going to destroy them.”

It's giving 1984

She pushed me harder and harder each day, almost like she was preparing me for a war.

Because this king is a tyrant dude. Obvi.

Um… What?

My. Thoughts. Exactly.

The Guardian was gone, too.

Girl he doesn't leave you. The man wants the v

“Yes. Your monthly cycle has arrived, and you’re ill. You asked me to leave you to rest.”

DADDY WONT BELIEVE IT. AND IF HE DOES HE'LL WANT TO HELP. ugh. Just accept that your Dad sucks and accept your new Daddy.

when a deep laugh caught my ear.

Told you he doesn't leave you alone

The Guardian was still at the tavern, still smiling and laughing with the blonde.

I hate this. He's gotta be pretending right?

A sour taste spread across my tongue. Not jealousy. Not for him.

BE JEALOUS. HE'S YOUR DADDY NOT THIS DIRTY SKANK BITCH'S … i need to calm down. I'm sure she's a perfectly friendly dirty skank bitch.

The Guardian stood in the center of my room, his legs planted wide, arms crossed over his chest.

Yayyyyyyyy!!!!!

Make up some ridiculous excuse as to how I’d gotten lost on my way to the commons and ended up in Ashmore?

Seems believable

“I didn’t ask to be married to a stranger and shipped across the continent. I didn’t ask to come to Turah. I didn’t ask to be jailed in a wilderness treehouse. Those were decisions made for me by the whims of men. So you can threaten to take away my freedom all you want, but I will fight you. Every step of the way. Until my last breath. And I will not go quietly into a cage.”

Yessss girl you tell him!!

The Guardian only stared at me, his face unreadable.

If he's not hard for her right now i will riot.

“Did you ever stop to think that maybe the door to your cage has always been unlocked, Sparrow? And all you had to do was push it open?”

I wasn’t used to testing doors. I’d learned a long time ago that they were always locked.

Or what if Father hadn’t told me the truth? What if he’d played on my sympathies? What if he’d leveraged my curiosity about the migrations, knowing I’d do anything for our people? What if I was doing all of this out of blind faith?

That has to be what's happening right? Ain't no way your daddy is a good dude

His handwriting was not at all what I’d expected. It was neat and clean. Practiced. Regal.

He's gotta be Zavier's brother

“I hate you.”